Television presenter slapped after appearing to touch a woman's breast during a live cross

A television presenter copped a slap after appearing to grope a woman's breast live on air.

BBC journalist Ben Brown was halfway through an interview with the British news network's assistant political editor Norman Smith yesterday when the incident occurred.

In the snafu, the men can be seen chatting when a female passer-by interrupts.

BBC presenter Ben Brown's unfortunate brush with an interview crasher.

She suddenly walks into the shot saying "absolutely fantastic" with her thumbs up, prompting Mr Brown to put his hand out in an attempt to shoo her away.

Unfortunately for both parties, his hand apparently goes straight into the woman's breast.

The shocked interview-crasher then smacks Mr Brown's arm and walks away but can be heard muttering about the unintentional grope.

Mr Brown apologised for the interruption at the end of the interview but seemed unaware that he'd touched the woman's breast.

He later took to Twitter to say his attempt to "minimise disruption" was tricky while live and in the middle of a conversation.

Unfortunate interruption of broadcast in Bradford - just tried to minimise disruption but v tricky live on air - completely unintentional

— Ben Brown (@BenBrownBBC) May 16, 2017

The accidental grope was "completely unintentional", he wrote.

Live TV can be a minefield for even the most seasoned of presenters, with countless examples of slip-ups from around the world.

Last month, ABC presenter Natasha Exelby was dumped by the public broadcaster for a gaffe that later went viral.

Ms Exelby was hosting a live weekend bulletin when she missed her cue while fiddling with a pen and made a quick but shocked recovery.